Father of astronautics
“Tsiolkovsky’s contribution to astronautics,” wrote the founder of the Russian rocket-engine industry, V.P. Glushko - immeasurably great. I can safely say: almost everything that we are doing now in this area was foreseen by a modest provincial teacher from the turn of the century. ”
And here is how noted the role of Konstantin S. P. S. Korolev: “The most remarkable, bold and original creation of Tsiolkovsky’s creative mind is his ideas and works in the field of rocket technology. Here he has no predecessors and is far ahead of scientists from all countries and the modern era for him. ”
Born K.E. Tsiolkovsky 17 September 1857 of the year in the village of Izhevsky, Spassky district, Ryazan province in a forester family. He had a difficult childhood. At nine years old, after a complication of scarlet fever, he was deaf. A year later, my mother died. The boy stayed with his father. By nature, very shy, after the death of the mother even more closed in himself. Loneliness did not leave him. Deafness prevented learning. Therefore, after the second class of the Vyatka gymnasium, he had to leave.
In 1873, the father, noticing technical abilities in his son, sends an 16-year-old boy to Moscow to study. However, he did not succeed in getting anywhere, and he continued self-education.
Getting acquainted with this difficult period of the Moscow life of the young Tsiolkovsky, you do not cease to be surprised at his thoroughness, systematic thinking, amazing commitment. Confirmation of this is the recognition of Tsiolkovsky himself. “I went through the first year of a thorough and systematic course in elementary mathematics and physics. In the second year I took up higher mathematics. I read courses in higher algebra, differential and integral calculus, analytic geometry, spherical trigonometry, etc. ” And this is in 16-17 years! With a half-starved existence. After all, the guy ate bread and potatoes. And the money that my father sent every month was spent on books.
Three hard years he lived in Moscow. It was necessary to decide what to do next. Returned at the request of his father in Vyatka. And again - self-education, experiences, minor inventions. In 1879, Tsiolkovsky takes exams for an elementary school teacher. And soon he became a mathematics teacher in the district school in Borovsk. And after 12 years of life in Borovsk moved to Kaluga.
In this city he lived the rest of his life, in it he wrote his main works, made the greatest discoveries. Already in his youthful years, he had a thought: Is it possible for a person to rise into the stratosphere? He ponders over the aircraft for such a flight and for several years engaged in the creation of a controlled all-metal airship.
Model of a corrugated metal balloon box (house-museum of KE Tsiolkovsky in Borovsk)
Tsiolkovsky publishes his theoretical substantiations and calculations in the book Aerostat Metallic Operated, which was published in the 1892 year. This work contained many valuable thoughts. First of all, it was valuable by one very important discovery: for the first time a scientist developed a device and a controller for the stable direction of the axis, that is, a prototype of the modern autopilot.
Konstantin Eduardovich was and for a long time remained a staunch supporter of an all-metal balloon. Mistaken about the predominant prospects of airships in front of devices heavier than air, he nevertheless studied the theory of aircraft. In 1894, he writes an article “Airplane, or Birdlike (aviation) aircraft ”. He is interested in everything related to the airplane: what is the role of speed for him and what engines can tell him speed; what should be the steering wheels of the flight control and the most advantageous forms of the aircraft. “It is necessary to give the apparatus,” he wrote, “perhaps a sharper and smoother shape (like birds and fish) and not give the wings very large sizes so as not to excessively increase the friction and environmental resistance.
Since 1896, he is seriously working on the theory of jet propulsion. “Long on a rocket,” the scientist recalled, “I looked like everything: from the point of view of amusements and small uses. I do not remember well how it occurred to me to do calculations related to the rocket. It seems to me that the first seeds - thoughts - were born by the famous visionary Jules Verne, he awakened the work of my brain. ”
So rocket. And why exactly did the scientist do it? Because, according to Tsiolkovsky, it is destined to overcome the Earth and escape into space. After all, this is not possible under the force of a dirigible balloon, an artillery shell, or an airplane. Only a rocket is able to provide the speed necessary to break the gravity. It solves another problem: fuel for the rocket. Powder? Not. Too much of it would be required to travel to interplanetary space. And how would this have a negative impact on the weight of the spacecraft. And what if the powder is replaced with liquid fuel?
After painstaking calculations, formulas, the conclusion: for space flights we need liquid fuel engines ... He stated all this in his work “The study of world spaces with jet instruments” published in 1903 year. By the way, the scientist not only outlined the theoretical foundations of the rocket, not only substantiated the possibility of its use for interplanetary communications, but also described this rocket ship: , miasms and other animal secretions, is intended not only for storing various physical devices, but also for controlling the camera of an intelligent creature. The chamber has a large stock of substances which, when mixed, immediately form an explosive mass. These substances, correctly and fairly evenly exploding in a certain place for this, flow in the form of hot gases along pipes expanding towards the end, such as a horn or a wind musical instrument. ” The fuel was hydrogen; liquid oxygen served as an oxidizing agent. Managed by a rocket gas graphite rudders.
Years later, he again and again returned to the work "The study of world spaces with jet instruments." Publishes the second and third parts of it. In them, he further develops his theoretical views on the use of a rocket for interplanetary flights, he re-interprets what he has written previously. The scientist again confirms: only a rocket is suitable for space flight. Moreover, the rocket spacecraft must be put on another rocket, terrestrial, or embedded in it. Earth rocket, not looking up from the surface, tells her the desired run. In other words, Tsiolkovsky put forward the idea of space rocket trains.
Composite missiles were offered before Tsiolkovsky. For the first time, he mathematically and accurately studied the problem of achieving high cosmic velocities with the help of rockets, substantiated the reality of its solution with the existing level of technology. This idea today is implemented in multistage space launch vehicles.
The brave, daring flight of Tsiolkovsky’s thoughts was accepted by many others for the delirium of an unbalanced mind. Of course, he had N.E.'s friends. Zhukovsky, D.I. Mendeleev, A.G. Stoletov and others. They passionately supported the ideas of the scientist. But these were only individual voices that were drowning in a sea of mistrust, hostility and mocking attitude of official representatives of the scientific circles of that time. The cleverest man Konstantin Eduardovich deeply experienced such an attitude towards him.
The theory of jet propulsion was also developed by Tsiolkovsky’s contemporaries by foreign scientists — the Frenchman Esno-Peltri, the German Gobert, and others. They published their works in 1913-1923, that is, much later than Konstantin Eduardovich.
In the 20-ies in European editions, there were reports of the works of Hermann Obert. In them he came to similar conclusions as Tsiolkovsky, but much later. Nevertheless, his articles did not even mention the name of the Russian scientist.
Chairman of the Association of Naturalists, Professor A.P. Modestov appeared in print in defense of the priority of Tsiolkovsky. He called the works of Konstantin Eduardovich, published earlier works of foreign colleagues, led reviews of well-known domestic scientists on the work of Tsiolkovsky. “By printing these certificates, the Presidium of the All-Russian Association of Naturalists aims to restore Tsiolkovsky’s priority in developing the question of a jet instrument (rocket) for extra-atmospheric and interplanetary spaces.” And when next year Tsiolkovsky published a rocket in outer space, Obert, after reading it, wrote to him: “You lit a fire and we will not let it go out, but we will make every effort to fulfill the great dream of humanity”.
The priority of the Russian scientist was also recognized by the German Interplanetary Communications Society. On the day of the 75 anniversary of Konstantin Eduardovich, the Germans welcomed him. “The society of interplanetary communications from the day of its foundation has always considered you one of its spiritual leaders and never missed an opportunity to point out orally and in print your high achievements and your undisputed priority in the scientific development of our great idea.”
Of course, Tsiolkovsky’s contribution to space science is a colossal one. But very important were for young scientists, designers, engineers, and the letters of Konstantin Eduardovich, his support, approval, attention. Among those novice designers supported by the great scientist was a young SP Korolev. He visited Tsiolkovsky, talked with him for a long time, listened to his advice. It was a meeting with Tsiolkovsky, according to Korolev, that played a decisive role in the direction of his activities.
19 September 1935 year Tsiolkovsky was gone. He was called a dreamer. Yes, he was a dreamer in the high sense of the word. Many of his dreams have already been fulfilled, many - will certainly become a reality in the future.
Speaking about the contribution of Tsiolkovsky to space science, we regularly use the word - the first. He was the first to substantiate the possibility of providing space velocity with a rocket, first to solve the problem of the landing of a spacecraft on the surface of atmosphereless planets. The first of scientists put forward the idea of an artificial satellite of the Earth.
Tsiolkovsky left more than 450 manuscripts of scientific, popular science and educational works, thousands of letters to his colleagues and associates, some of which he hoped to publish. His heritage is invaluable. Not all of the archive of Konstantin Eduardovich published to this day. According to experts, the archive has been studied by only one third.
Model of the rocket developed by Tsiolkovsky. State Museum stories cosmonautics
Sources:
Demin V.N. Tsiolkovsky. M .: Young Guard. 2005. C. 12-18, 87, 126-131, 298-302.
Krikunenko A. Kaluga dreamer // Wings of the Motherland. 1999. No.4. C. 31-32.
Melnikov L.N. Kaluga dreamer // Delphis. 2008. No.53. C. 37-43.
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